Automatic bell-ringer



(N o Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. W. SLATER,

AUTOMATIC BELL RINGER. No. 449,866. Patented Apr. 7,1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM V. SLATER, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

'AUTOMATIG BELL-RINGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part oi" Letters Patent N0. 449,866, dated April '7, 1891. Application filed January 6,1891, Serial No. 376,907. (No model.)

To (all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. SLATER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, Alameda county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Automatic Bell-Ringers; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a device for automatically ringing a bell. It is especially adapted to ring cautionary or alarm bells, such as are employed at railroad-crossings and for other similar purposes.

It consists of a bell fixed to a suitable support having aswinging tongue or clapper and an air-actuated mechanism whereby the clapper is caused to swing, an electromagnetic device whereby the valve is opened and closed,

and a means for alternately making and breaking the circuit for this purpose.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention,Figure 1 is a side elevation of the frame, with sectional View of the bell and exterior v view of the. cylinder and magnet. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the actuating mechanism. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on the line as w of Fig. 2.

My present invention is an improvement upon a device for which Letters Patent No. 408,440 were issued to me August 6, 1889; and it consists, essentially, in simplifying the number of parts and making a more direct connection for operating the clapper of the bell.

A is a frame mounted upon the top of a post or other suitable support, having a bell B fixed to it by means of a shank or bolt at the top or by other suitable or convenient device. In the present case I have shown a bolt for this purpose extending through the top of the bell, having a forked lower end, within which is fulcrumed the bell-crank lever, one arm 1) of which hangs vertically when in its normal position and carries the tongue or clapper E, which is secured to its lower end, as shown. The other end F of the bell-crank lever has connected with it a rod G, and this rod extends downward alongside of the cylinder H and at its lower end is attached to a cross-head or connecting-yoke I,

the opposite end of which is secured to the projecting end of the piston-rod J.

Vithin the cylinder H. is fitted the piston K,.

having suitable packing-rings to make it fit tight within the cylinder, and the piston-rod J has its inner end fixed to the piston, so that when the piston reciprocates it moves the piston-rod, the cross-header yoke I, and the rod G, and through these the bell-crank lever and the bell-clapper, the operation being similar to that of my former patent as far as its operating to ring the bell is concerned,but differing therefrom in having the direct connection between the piston and the bell-clapper.

Above the cylinder H is fixed the solenoid L, having the armature M, which is drawn into contact with the poles of the solenoid when an electric current passes through the latter and is relieved therefrom when the current is cut off.

In my present construction the cylinder and the solenoid form asingle structure standing in vertical line and attached'to asuitable support beneath the mouth of the bell.

N is an air-pipe, through which air under pressure reaches the side of the cylinder.

a is a passage made in the side of the cylinder through which the air flows into a small chamber. 0, and P is a screw by which the supply of air through this passage is regulated.

In the upper part of the chamber 0 is a seat Q, and a puppet-valve R fits upwardly against this seat and closes it. This valve R is fixed to a stem S, this stem extending upward and connecting with the armature, so that when the valve is raised by means of the spring T, which acts upon it for this purpose, the valve will close upward against its seat. A spring T acts-to raise the armature when the electric current is out 01f from the magnet The valve-stem extends upward from this valve through a channel or passage which is of larger diameter than the stem, and above this passage is a chamber U, having'a seat in the lower part around the stem, and a valve.

V is fixed to the stem within this chamber at such a point that when the lower valve R is closed the upper valve V is opened, and when the upper valve is closed the lower valve is opened. As the lower valve is opened by the action of the solenoid drawing the armature down upon its poles, this same action closes the upper valve and cuts off communication with the upper or exhaust chamber U.

From the passage which connects the upper and lower chambers, and at a point between the two valves before described, is a passage IV, which extends downward, so as to open into the main cylinder H above the piston K, which actuates the bell-clapper.

The operation will then be as follows: Air being supplied through the pipe or passage N flows through the passage 17. into the chamber 0, and when the current of electricity is passed through the solenoid it draws the armature down upon itself, and, acting through the valve-stem, closes the valve V and opens the valve B, so that air from the chamber 0 may pass around this valve up around the valvestem, and thence through the'passage IV into the upper part of the cylinder II, so as to force the piston downward and through its connections to ring the bell, as previously described. As soon as the piston has moved down so asto ring the bell it acts through a mechanism hereinafter described to cut off the current of electricity, and the spring actin g upon the valve-stem closes the lower valve,

' so that no more air is admitted into the cylinder, and at the same time opens the upper valve V, so as to allow air from the cylinder to escape through the passage IV around the valve-stem and the upper valve V, and thence into an exhaust-passage Y, whence it escapes to the atmosphere.

The mechanism for completing and breaking the circuit through the solenoid consists of an arm a, fulcrumed at cl, having one end so connected as to be reciprocated by the movement of the main piston-rod J. In the present case I have shown the outer end of this lever weighted, so that it will be instantly returned when the piston moves upward again. It will also be manifest that it might be operated by a spring and be equally efficient.

c is an arm projecting upward nearly at right angles with the lever a, and its upper end acts against an elastic plate g. When this elastic plate is forced upward by the action of the lever-arm impinging against it, it forms a contact with the point e. One of the wires f of the circuit is connected through the binding-postsf with the point e, and the other wire 9 connects with the elastic plate 9, so that when the plate is brought in contact with the pointcthe circuit will be completed; but when it is allowed to move away from the point by the downward movement of the piston-rod and the consequent rotation of the lever-arm a c the circuit will be broken, thus allowing the armature to rise from the poles of the solenoid, as previously described. By this construction I accomplish the same result as shown in my former patent; but I greatly simplify and reduce the mechanism.

claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A fixed bell having the swinging clapper connected with the pistonrod of a piston reciprocating within a cylinder, an air-supply pipe admitting air-to one side of said piston, so as to force it to one end of its stroke, and an escape-passage through which the air may be exhausted, in combination "with a valvestem and valves whereby the passages for the admission and escape of air are opened and closed, and an electro-magnet the armature of which is connected with said valve-stem and mounted in a direct line above the cylinder and forming a part of the single structure thereof, substantially as herein described.

2. A fixed bell, a swinging clapper mounted upon one end of a bell-crank lever, a rod connecting the opposite end of the bell-crank leverdirectly with a piston-rod, a cylinder having a piston reciprocating therein and fixed to the inner end of the piston-rod, an air-inlet passage 01. and chamber 0, an electro-magnet mounted in line above the cylinder, having an armature, a valve-stem connected directly with said armature and extending down through the chamber 0, a valve fixed upon said stem so as to close against the upper part of the chamber, and a second valve fixed to the stem above this chamber, closingin opposition to the first valve, so that one valve is opened when the other is closed, an exhaustpassage controlled by the second valve, and a passage extending from a point between the two valves to the upper part of the main cylinder and acting as a supply and exhaust passage alternately, substantially as herein described.

3. A fixed bell,a swinging clapper connected directly with a reciprocating piston whereby it is actuated, an electro-magnet fixed in line above the cylinder in which the piston reciprocates, wires connecting said magnet with a source of electrical supply, and a mechanism for making and breaking the electrical circuit through said magnet, consisting of a lever having one end connected with the reciprocating piston and an elastieplate forming contact between two electrodes when the piston is at the upper part of its stroke and breaking the contact when the piston has descended by moving the lever-arm, so as to allow the spring to be disengaged from the opposite electrode, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM 'W. SLATER.

itnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, H. 0. LEE. 

